Pune Pop-Rock Band Fiddlecraft Talk New Video ‘Ye Dil’ and Longevity

Pune pop-rock band Fiddlecraft's Gaurav Kadu in a still from 'Ye Dil.'

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It doesn’t happen very often in the Indian independent music space, but Pune pop-rock band Fiddlecraft started out with a manager bent on making them big. Frontman and singer-songwriter Gaurav Kadu, who’s just released his new single “Ye Dil,” says that the original plan between him and manager Sudeep Shetty was to open a studio.

Kadu says, “Fiddlecraft happened after two of us resigned from our jobs, thinking we’ll open the best studio of Pune. Right after leaving our jobs, our investor backed out.” Formed on April 1st in 2015, Shetty notes that since he’s not a musician, working as manager has helped him provide the more general reactions of Fiddlecraft’s music. Kadu jokes that the last time Shetty tried to sing, they were out of business for a couple of months, but mentions that he had 200 songs written even before Fiddlecraft came into existence. “So more than having any other musicians, the first requirement was a manager to sell those song,” Kadu adds.

Influenced by the likes of folk-pop bands Euphoria and The Raghu Dixit Project, plus pop-rock biggies Coldplay, Fiddlecraft released singles and built up to their 2018 debut album Hawai Jahaaz. Through Fiddlecraft, Kadu channels everything from love ballads (“Mai Chala Jaunga”) to socio-political takes (“Bakre Ki Amma”) and now there’s “Ye Dil,” which weaves in metaphors of home ownership with love, Kadu unabashedly stringing together matters of rent with matters of the heart.

It’s accompanying music video was shot by Kadu’s wife Nikita Shetty at Loch Katerine in Scotland. Kadu, who edited the video, says, “I just saw a beautiful boathouse and I knew it from the very first minute that the song should talk about a house, ‘Ye Dil’ is all about that house.” While the band extends to guitarist Akshay More, drummer Syed Saif Ali, pianist/keyboardist Vikas Makasare and bassist Dev Verma, Kadu notes that there could be more instrumentalists on stage as they go along. The gigs are on hold for now, but Shetty adds, “We’ve been on a virtual anniversary tour and trying to connect with our fans as much as possible.”